Denorfia joining Italy for WBC

A’s outfielder Chris Denorfia got confirmation that he’s on the final roster for the Italian national team that will play in the World Baseball Classic. He’ll leave the A’s on Sunday to train with the Italians in Port. St. Lucie, Fla., before they open the international tournament against Venezuela on March 7. Denorfia, who joked last week that the only Italian he knows is swear words, grew up living in the same house as his Italian grandmother, and he’s excited about the opportunity. Mike Piazza played for the Italian team in the 2006 WBC, and another former Athletic, pitcher Lenny DiNardo, is on Italy’s provisional roster this year. The rest of the final roster will be announced tomorrow. It’s very possible Denorfia could face A’s teammate Brad Ziegler, who will pitch for the U.S. team. The U.S. and Italy open the tournament in the Toronto pool along with Canada and Venezuela.

The morning’s other news …

–A’s manager Bob Geren said tomorrow’s intrasquad game will start at 11:15 a.m. (at Phoenix Municipal Stadium) and probably go 3 1/2 innings. He didn’t reveal both full lineups for the game, but did say one team’s batting order will probably have Travis Buck leading off, followed by Ryan Sweeney, Matt Holliday and Jason Giambi. We may see a lot of that this season …